Those three months
by DOI980
Summary: Set a little while after the ending of The Host, describing the next three months and their dramatic end...
1. Chapter 1

At that moment life seemed perfect. The air was warm - soft tendrils of the sun's heat penetrating the room -but not yet humid – the rains of that year had been slow to show themselves.

The weather had seemed to not only perfectly match my mood but the environment around me. Infectious laughter spilled over from surrounding conversations, swirling around me and filling me with a warm contentment. Shouts from the increasingly competitive football game in front of me were loud and rowdy but strangely complementary to the affectionate atmosphere, filling it with a passionate edge. One particular participant of this game was fuelling my insatiable happiness. I watched him, seemingly unable to draw my eyes away. He hypnotised me.

Yes. At this exact moment I could have not been happier.

I still remember those moments now and look back on them often. I would not change them. Even knowing what comes next. Knowing that my perfectly content, warm bubble was shattered by just one sound, followed by a cold trickle of sadness down my back. Just one moment that devastated and crushed the happiness that had once been mine. No, I would not change those three months for anything.


	2. Chapter 2

THREE MONTHS EARLIER

"And I win again. You know guys, I wish you would at least _try_, this is getting kinda boring" Melanie gloated, as another bump in the road sent the Monopoly pieces flying across the board only for the five players of the game to sigh, pick them up again and place them back on the board for the what felt like the 100th time that day. The other participants of the game seemed exasperated with this hindrance of playing a board game in the back of a moving van. I, on the other hand, just took it as part of the game. I had never played any other way, never known anything different.

The van in question was, at that moment, travelling down a dirt track, making the bumps and resultant interruptions numerous. A long ride home at the end of an even longer raid.  
"If you're tired of winning why don't you try not cheating?" Jared, who was attempting to control the van, laughed from the front seat.  
"Excuse me? I think I must have heard you wrong. Are you, Jared, accusing me, Melanie, the gorgeous, stunning and evidently highly talented Monopoly player of cheating?" Melanie gasped, placing her hand on her heart as though the allegation of some not very well hidden cheating wounded her delicate nerves.  
"Ermm…Yes. Yes, I think I am"  
"You are soooo gonna regret that when we pull over" Melanie threatened pulling her most scary glare from her arsenal of menacing faces.  
"Oh really" Jared laughed. It was easy at times to forget that Melanie and Jared had got married only two weeks ago the way they argued, but that was just their relationship. They both had big personalities that clashed on a regular basis, but if you looked through that it was clear how much they loved each other.

It was that love that had brought me to the little group of humans in the first place and so I was forever grateful to them. It was through them that I had found _him_.  
Mel and Jared continued to disagree but I was distracted from this daily occurrence by the person sitting beside me. _Him_. He seemed to be the only one continuing to pay attention to the game, the other players joining in with Mel and Jared's banter. He stared at the board, his ice blue eyes intent on the pieces, their slight squint showed me that he was thinking. I gazed at the face that I knew better than my own. The pitch black hair that fell across the pale face and down over the most striking blue eyes I had ever seen – even bluer than his brother's, Kyle, who sat opposite.

He noticed my staring then and looked up at me with a smile in his eyes.  
Ian.  
The reason for which I was here right now, the reason I was alive. Without him I would have died a year ago. Not only in the physical sense but mentally too. He was, quite literally, the thing that made my life worth living.  
"Tired of monopoly yet?" He asked me, grinning. "I think everyone else is."  
I looked around to see that he was right. Mel and Jared had finished their spat and Mel had scrambled into the front passenger seat of the van and was holding Jared's free hand. Kyle, Ian's brother, was entangled with Sunny, a fellow soul, in the corner of the van, staring into each other's eyes in such a way that made me turn away and blush. I quickly looked down; hoping to hide the fact that my face had turned the colour of a tomato, but Ian was too quick. He moved towards me and caught my chin with his hand, pulling my face up until my golden eyes were level with his blue ones. My heart thudded in my chest. Everytime he was near to me, everytime he touched me my heart beat picked up and my blood started rushing through my body at what felt like an almost unhealthy speed.

Suddenly I was thrown backwards, my head whacking into the side of the van. A sharp pain went through my head and I shut my eyes, trying not to cry. One of Jared's trademark sharp stops.

"Hey sorry about the rough landing guys" Jared smirked, twisting to face us from the front seat.  
"You're an idiot Jared" Ian shouted. He sounded almost…angry? "Are you okay Wanda" He continued in a much softer tone, his hands probing my head, feeling for any damage.  
"Yeah, I'm fine Ian. Don't worry, it was nothing" I said trying to calm Ian's obvious distress. "It was just a little bump"  
"Hear that Ian. Just a little bump. No need to get your knickers in a twist" Jared said, continuing to laugh.

Ian said nothing, just glared and then proceeded to help me out of the back doors of the van that Kyle and Sunny had already slipped out of. As I stepped out of the van, the bright sun light hit my face, causing me to squint and cover my eyes with my hand.

Ian chuckled and slid his sunglasses onto my face. His hand lingering on my cheek a little longer than was necessary. I opened my eyes to see Ian's face close to mine through the dark tint of the sunglasses. I smiled and said quietly "Thanks"  
"You're welcome" He replied and then stood and walked back to the van to help Kyle and Sunny unload our meagre amount of luggage. We travelled light.

With Ian's slightly too big sunglasses on, I could easily see the hotel at which we would be staying at that evening. It was fairly boring, fairly clean, and fairly standard. Everything we had come to expect.  
We were currently on a raid, travelling miles and miles to collect supplies from different shops and hospitals. It was a nerve wracking experience but it was coming to a close, only a few stops left on Jared's military precise schedule.

There was one thing that a raid did mean - a new hotel and a new bed every night. This caused me fresh embarrassment and anxiousness every night. Although back home, at the caves, Ian and I shared a bed, there was never any chance of anything happening because people, and by people I mean Mel, casually walk in and out of other people's rooms as if they owned the place. This meant nothing could ever happen. Something for which I was usually grateful. I loved Ian and wanted more than anything to be with him in that way but I just didn't feel ready and so, to me, there was always an upside to Mel's arrogance.

At hotels it was a different story. No one else around. Just me and Ian sharing a bed. At this thought my heart beat picked up and I felt the familiar heat of a blush painting my cheeks. I was contemplating why I felt this way when the world began to resurface around me and I could hear a loud, mocking voice coming from about 5cm away from my face. Mel. Who else?

"Wanda, hellooooo. Wanda. WANDA!" Mel laughed, clicking her fingers and waving her hand close to my face. "Jeez! Are you sleeping with your eyes open or something?" She snorted. I blinked, trying to drag myself away from my worries and laughed too.

Mel, noticing the exit of my glazed look, took my hand and pulled me towards the electric doors leading into a small foyer…  
We had no trouble booking in, souls were so trusting. The women at the desk didn't even check the human's eyes or their non-existent scars at the back of their necks. She gave us our three keys and we walked towards the stairs, Ian ignoring my protests that I could carry my own bag.  
Kyle and Sunny and then Mel and Jared peeled off as they found their rooms, but me and Ian carried on walking, looking for our room. Room 473.

"Okay here it is" Ian said stopping outside a door and slipping the key in. He turned it and pushed the door inwards, motioning for me to go in first. I walked into our room and sat down on the bed. Ian followed and dropped the two bags he was carrying by the door leading into the bathroom.

"Not too bad" Ian laughed, surveying the room "better than the hotel two nights ago. The décor in that place was horrible" I laughed with him, remembering Ian flicking the tassels hanging off the hideous lamp that had stood in the corner of that particular hotel room.

Ian walked towards me and sat next to me on the bed. "I hate to be boring but Jared told me to tell you to have an early night. You have a huge task tomorrow" Ian's face creased into a frown as it always did when he thought I was being unfairly used by Jared and the rest of the humans to gather supplies. "I don't see why you have to go and get clothes. I mean there not exactly essentials"

"Ian its fine. Anyway Mel and Sunny will be with me. It's not like I'm doing all the work" Ian raised his eyebrows at this but said nothing. I was pleased he didn't pursue the topic. I didn't want to discuss the ethics of using me to stock up everyone's wardrobes right now. I had other things on my mind.

A few hours later, I was lying in bed whilst Ian took a shower. The steam from the bathroom was seeping from the sides of the door frame, making the room hot and humid. I was wearing shorts and a thin, short sleeved tee-shirt yet I was getting hot. I sighed and got out of bed, walking towards the window. I glanced out at the ever-darkening scene as I opened the window a fraction.

This window looked out onto the car park. I could see the van, tucked into a corner, under a tree, away from prying eyes. Kyle never slept in the van anymore, Sunny had managed to convince him that hotel rooms were relatively safe, especially with her around. The fact that Kyle had taken Sunny's advice was reassuring to me. A sign that the distance between them created by Jodi's conspicuous absence was slowly closing.  
I glanced around the rest of the scene noticing that there were only two other cars in the car park. One a small, dark green mini. The other a dark black saloon car, parked in the shadows so I had to strain my eyes to see it. As I watched there was a flicker of movement inside and, squinting against the darkness and the film of grime across the window, I could just about make out a figure sitting in the front seat. A figure looking straight at me. I gasped and quickly tugged the curtains back across the window, hiding the car from sight. I knew that it was probably nothing, but when you are with a group of humans in a soul infested planet, paranoia was hard to escape.

I stood there whilst my heart beat gradually slowed and tried not to imagine what would happen if my family was ever discovered. As I walked back over to the bed I was so wrapped up in these thoughts of that I didn't notice that the shower had stopped until I bumped into Ian.  
"Whoa, sorry" I mumbled as I realised that he was bare-chested, nothing but a towel slung around his waist. I started to blush realising that my hands were splayed on his chest. I could feel the thick bands of muscle that comes from serious exercise under my fingers, tensing where my hands rested.

I had seen Ian without a top before. Often when we played football in the caves, the men took theirs off as it got hot easily underground. However he always slept with one on. Mainly, I think out of respect for me. Ian was always careful not to push me too far. He knew how new everything was too me, and didn't want to make me do anything I didn't want to. Another reason to add to the growing list of why I loved him.

"That's quite alright Wanda" Ian said, winking. He laughed to show me he was joking then stepped back. "I forget to take my clothes into the bathroom" He turned, picked up a bundle of clothes from the chair and went back to the bathroom.

I returned to the bed, my face still burning from embarrassment. But also from something else. Standing there, with my hands pressed against Ian's bare chest, I wanted him more than I ever had…

Ian came back out of the bathroom then in lose, grey jogging bottoms and a black short sleeved top, stretched tight over his muscled body. The sight of it brought back the feelings from a few minutes ago and I blushed again.

"I love it when you blush" he chuckled, as he slipped into the bed right next to me. He turned on his side and stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. He was so close to me, his face right above me, that my heartbeat began to pick up once more.

"Really? I can't think it's a terribly attractive look" I whispered, my voice all breathy.

"Hmm...I think I'm going to have to disagree with you there." He smiled, teasing me as my breath came out in small gasps.  
Finally, he leaned down to touch his lips to mine, incredibly gently as though I might break. For a moment I was in heaven. I thought of nothing, no one but the feel of Ian's lips on mine. The lips that were suddenly gone.

After barely a second he had pulled back and sighed. It seemed as though he was frustrated but trying not to let it show. I had never really thought how much my hesitance might affect Ian. He was human after all.

I was about to say something when Ian sighed again. "I love you Wanda"  
"I love you too Ian" as I said it I realised that I meant it yet I had never shown it. Ian never knew how much he meant to me. He must get so frustrated. In more ways than one.

Ian promptly fell asleep, his body splaying out all over the bed in his characteristic sleeping position. I, however, spent most of the night thinking. I decided that the best way to show Ian how much he meant to me, how much I trusted him was to show him that I was ready to fully commit. His birthday was next week and I identified this as an ideal opportunity. Now all I needed was a little help from Melanie…


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey, sorry I took forever to upload this chapter - i'm still pretty new to this and stuff just kept getting in the way!_ _This chapter's pretty long though, so hopefully that makes up for it._  
_I just wanted to say thanks to those who reviewed and that i'll try and update more regularly from now on!_

* * *

Back in the stuffy van the next morning, all I could think of were my plans for Ian's birthday. Ian was sitting behind my, holding me close to his chest. Despite our physical proximity I had felt a certain distance since last night. Ian was being even more cautious than usual. Looking to me to see if something like holding hands might be too much for me.

However, I put this out of my mind as my excitement, and my nerves, grew about my plans. First though I had to tell Mel, and that was _not_ going to be fun.

I brought it up in the second shop we visited. It was completely empty apart from me, Mel, Sunny and a teenage cashier talking on her mobile. Sunny was browsing at the front of the shop so I dragged Melanie to the back, right in the corner, where not even the bored looking assistant could hear us.

"Wanda, we've already looked over here." Mel complained, looking at the racks around her.  
"I know Mel, but I need to ask you a favour"  
"Oh really?" Now I had her attention. "Is it to do with Ian?" Sometimes I felt like that girl could read minds. Or maybe it was just written across my face.  
"Um, yeah actually. Yeah it is"  
"Well?"  
"Umm...Well-You see" I mumbled, blushing bright red.  
"Common Wanda. Spit it out"  
"Right…well you know it's Ian's birthday next week and…well…I was thinking of doing something to show that I'm…ready for…um...You know" What I had just said made absolutely no sense, but Melanie was like my sister and she understood immediately.  
"Are you serious? I thought you'd done it already!" At this she giggled and then noticing my mortified expression quickly stopped.  
"So how do you think I should tell him" I asked.  
There was a pause and I thought Mel was going to start laughing again. But then something much worse happened. A sly smile drew across her face - her characteristic "I've got an amazing plan" face - a face which had got us into a few sticky situations in the past.

Finally she winked and said "Tell him?! Wanda, I think you should show him!"  
With that she sauntered towards Sunny and seized her hand. "Common Sunny, we're off."  
she grabbed me too and dragged us out of the shop…

A few moments later, after practically ripping our arms off as she walked along the road, Mel stopped outside a shop, apparently satisfied.  
"Here" she said, gesturing dramatically, as though the shop was the new 8th wonder of the world.  
"Here!?" I said, shocked. It was a lingerie shop. Souls weren't totally prude. After all, we came to Earth to experience life here.

I had a sudden dawning realisation of what Mel's plans most probably entailed. "Mel are you serious? I was thinking more like a quick chat with him"  
"Wanda, common, be realistic, you would never be able to ask him something like this, I bet you would explode from the blushing alone. You're gonna have to show him. And in a way he'll never forget" She said the last part with a wicked smile on her face and before I could say another word had pushed open the door and walked into the shop. Sunny shrugged and followed. I sighed and trailed in behind her…

…we returned to the van to meet the guys again. I held the plastic bag that held my newly acquired 'garments' close to my chest. The last thing I needed was for Ian to open it and start asking me why I was buying slutty lingerie. And it was a bit slutty. I had tried to protest to Mel but she had just wolf whistled and then laughed, telling me I looked 'gorgeous'.  
Whatever - sexy wasn't really my thing but Mel had told me that I was going to have to pull it off. Although this was going to be a big jump outside my comfort zone I had already promised myself that I would go through with my plan, albeit hijacked by Melanie, in one week. On Ian's birthday.

I walked over to Ian who immediately stood and drew me in for a hug that nearly crushed me.  
"It's good to see you again" he said; his voice intense despite the fact that there were four other people around.  
"I was only gone for an hour" I protested, even though I agreed with him. The time we spent apart seemed to stretch and last forever. He leaned down to touch his lips to mine. I tried to pull him closer, for once not caring that there were people around. But with a jolt, Ian seemed to remember something and he pulled back with a sigh.

"Okay then, let's get this baby back on the road" Mel shouted from the opposite side of the car park where the van was parked. We were on the way home now and everyone was eager to get back to the caves. We began the walk across the car park, Ian taking my hand. For the first time ever it felt kind of awkward. I had still to figure out what was going on with me and Ian.

At that moment, a sudden prickle worked its way slowly down the back of my neck accompanied by the feeling of being watched. I turned and scanned the car park. Nothing. No one. Just the rustling of the trees and the faint whistling of an impatient Jared. I shook the feeling - it was probably nothing - and climbed into the van. As we pulled away I tried to leave my paranoia behind, in the cold, grey car park.

Back at the caves after a long, tedious, monopoly cheating filled van ride home, we were unloading the products of our numerous 'raids' - or shopping trips as the less melodramatic of us, namely me and Sunny, called them. I had forced my suspicions to the back of my mind and was helping the others to unload.

Ian refused to let me carry anything heavy and so I was stuck with carrying the clothes inside the entrance to the caves. I had kept the plastic bag close to me the whole ride home and held it now, beneath the towering pile of clothes. Ian had asked me about the bag, as I knew he would, but I had explained that it was his birthday present and so he shouldn't look. He chuckled and promised with mock solemnity that he wouldn't.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Jeb standing right in front of me until I walked into his chest, dropping several items of clothing onto the purple, hole-ridden cave floor.  
"Oh, sorry" I mumbled, looking up to see a big smile plastered onto his lined face.  
"Don't worry Wanda. We've been short on workers so it's good to have you back." Typical Jeb. Work first, emotions later.  
I looked over my shoulder to see the rest of the party entering the cave with various boxes and crates. They walked past me to the storerooms buried deep within the cave systems. Ian gave me a wistful look as he passed. "I'll be back soon" he said.  
"Okay, I better go distribute these clothes" I said, picking up the few I had dropped due to Jeb's sudden appearance but Ian had gone before I had even finished the sentence. Weird.  
"Well get to it then" Jeb said when I didn't move. I dragged my eyes away from Ian's retreating back.  
"Sure Jeb" I rolled my eyes, but took his command seriously. You didn't mess with Jeb.

I wandered down the cave passageway into the main plaza where, as I could have predicted, most of the caves population was congregated.  
"Clothes!" Heidi shrieked, running over to me, already trying to pick the best out of the pile I held in my hands.  
"Hey, wait a sec, I'm just going to put them down over there and then everyone can choose some" I said, trying to make this process fair.  
"Oh, hi Wanda. I didn't see you under there" She laughed, joking as she always did. "Fine, but if I don't get the best clothes I will hold you personally responsible"  
"Yeah, yeah Heidi. Just as I will hold you personally responsible if the girls loose tonight's football game" I said, referring to the running football competition between the guys and the girls. The points were tied with both teams having won 3 games each. Tonight was the 'final'.

I had been deemed to "rubbish" to play in the tournament by Melanie - our team captain and my supposed 'best friend'. And so I had to sit at the side, keeping score. I didn't really mind, the games had become increasingly aggressive and I wasn't sure my tiny frame, or Ian's nerves, could deal with it.

Right at that moment, when what had meant to be a civilised selection of clothes had turned into a free for all with elbows and harsh words flying everywhere, Ian came up behind me and wrapped his arms round his waist. "I didn't know people could get so agitated over clothing" He chuckled in my ear, his breath tickling.  
"Take a good look. This is the consequence of depriving women of clothes" I said, trying to joke, I didn't really care about clothes. But Ian's proximity meant that my breath caught in my throat and my awful comedic timing was further worsened. Nevertheless Ian chuckled again. He hadn't been this close to me since the night in the hotel and I felt my heart beat get even quicker at this notion.  
As soon as I thought this however, Ian pulled away, with another sigh. He seemed to be even more frustrated than ever. I turned around to see a pained expression on his face.  
"Ian? What's wrong?" I asked, interested and worried in equal amounts.

Ian studied my face for what felt like a long time before a gruff, "Nothing, Wanda." Despite the circumstances, my heart still skipped a beat when he said my name. "Common we better get down to the games room, Jared will never forgive us if we're late for the match." I didn't mention that Jared probably wouldn't care if _I_ was late. It was Ian he really needed. Everyone knew that Ian was the best football player in the caves. Even Kyle, Jared or Mel couldn't touch him when he was on top form. Although Mel sometimes came close.

"Sure lets go" I turned around to see that everyone who had been in the plaza had left, already making their way to the upcoming football match. We began walking to the tunnel opposite us that led down to the dark yet spacious games room. We walked in silence. An uncomfortable one. It was made even worse by the fact that I was sure I knew now what was causing it. Ian's frustration. He was trying to be a gentleman and let me take my time but I knew that, despite all that, he was still human, still a guy. It was my turn to sigh as we turned a corner into a new tunnel.

There was a flicker of light at the end of this one, we were close now. I was going to say something, to break the awkward silence but we had only taken one more step when Mel collided with us. I hadn't noticed her approaching, as I had been looking down at the little purple specks of the cave floor, so I gave a little shriek of surprise. Mel laughed at me while Ian's worried blue eyes gazed down at me, flitting over my face as if to check I was alright. Reassured that I was he straightened, turning to Mel.  
"And the rush is..?" he left the question hanging.  
"To find you, actually. Jared refuses to start before he has his 'star striker' on the pitch" Mel snorted derisively. Her arrogance when it came to football was well known. She thought she was the best player in the caves.  
"Well I'm here now so… let's start" Ian said walking forwards into the games room, leaving me and Mel in the corridor.

As Ian left, Mel took a further step towards me and whispered "Is everything okay with you and Jared's 'prodigy'?" She asked, unable to resist a further dig at Ian's football aptitude even though he was no longer there.  
"Everything's fine" I replied. I didn't want to get into the confusing world of mine and Ian's love life amid shouts from the game room for Melanie to 'hurry up' and to 'get her butt in here' – that one was most definitely Kyle.

"Hmm, I'm sure your birthday surprise will cheer him up!" she said with a wink. This made me blush and I quickly walked round her and into the games room. She must have followed behind because I heard a chorus of 'finally' as I made my way over to my traditional spot.

My spot consisted of a little patch of rock that I had managed to erode into softness over the course of several months. It was from here that I kept score since everyone else took part.

The teams were all complete now and they stood in two huddles. Guys on my right, girls to my left. Mel and Jared were both talking animatedly to their teams.

While the competition between the teams was tough, between Mel and Jared it was brutal. They were both so competitive, with the same hatred of losing, that things usually became quite heated between them.

Both huddles suddenly straightened up, ready to begin. I sat up straighter, interested in the outcome of the match.

As the boys team kicked off, I realised my loyalties were conflicted. While I wanted to see Ian happy, I had also recently been educated by Melanie in the concept of 'girl power' and a small part of me wanted to see it prevail.

My wishes came true a few moments after when Paige, storming down the right flank, whipped in a cross that Melanie headed home.  
I laughed as I updated the score board. I had begun to suspect that Mel practised her goal celebrations day and night to make them as silly as possible. Tonight was no exception. Running past Jared, holding the loser sign to her head, she launched into some kind of samba dance at the near touchline. The rest of the girls joined in while the guys looked on, trying not to laugh.

Mel ran past me, back to her position, high fiving me on the way. I laughed again; intrigued to see how the boys would come back from here. And come back they did, with Ian completing a hatrick, in between another goal from Mel, making the final score 3-2.

The game had been absorbing. My whole attention focused on Ian for the majority of the match. He moved with such grace when he played. His agility, speed and strength meaning that no one could get near him, let alone get the ball off him.

I was replaying the goals in my head when I saw him making his way towards me, holding a small winner's trophy that Jamie had made from tinfoil and cardboard a few weeks earlier. I stood up laughing, as he crushed me into a hug, his head nuzzling into my hair. He smelt of sweat, but not in an unpleasant way. I blushed.

"Mel is going to kill you for single handily making her a loser, you know" I said, looking at Mel as Ian released me from the hug. She was talking to Jared who appeared to be teasing her.

"I know. I actually feel sorry for her having to deal with Jared's gloating" He chuckled, following my eyes to where Jared and Mel stood. "Shall we go rescue her?" I nodded; if someone didn't intervene soon it could turn into a serious fight.

We walked over to them and just heard the end of Jared's "…how does it feel to lose then?" taunt. Not a good question to ask Mel, unless you were looking to have your ass kicked.  
"I'm sure you know. You've had a lot of practice at it" Mel said, smirking as she walked off to join a group of the girls talking on the other side of the pitch. Apparently me and Ian were not needed.

Jared looked at us and shrugged "Whatever man, we won." He clapped Ian on the shoulder while continuing "You know what? You are seriously so good I think you could have played professionally. Before the world got screwed up I had this mate-" But we didn't get to hear about Jared's old mate because at that moment, a noise filled the room.

It was a noise that sent shivers down my spine. A noise that chilled me to the core. A noise that made me stare around, wide eyed, desperate to discover its source.  
It was the noise of a helicopter hovering overhead; its roterblades spinning feverishly. I had heard that noise just more than a year ago, over the course of one fear-filled week.

It could mean only one thing – the souls had found us…


End file.
